Sea Ice Data at NSIDC: Data Managers and Scientists working together to improve data quality for the benefit of science

Donna J. Scott(1), Florence Fetterer(2), Kara Gergely(3), Matt Savoie(4), Ann Windnagel(5)

Abstract
NSIDC recently completed a multi-month project where data managers and scientists came together to improve upon NSIDC’s highly visible passive microwave-based sea ice data sets and products. The goal was to impose consistency across the NSIDC-produced data sets, facilitate long-term maintenance of the production software, and provide more transparency to users (scientists, researchers, general public) in how these data are created. This presentation explores how scientists and data managers worked together to develop a data masking approach shared between data sets, and implement a number of enhancements to improve upon data for the greater good of the research that will be done using these data. We tackle the intricacies of working with sea ice data production across multiple funding lines and systems. In addition, we discuss the collaboration between data management and science, considering the end-user impacts of data set changes, while racing to release the data before a critical sea ice deadline determined by mother nature.